Tool kit



S. DONIGER Sept. 12, 1950 TOOL KIT Filed May 17, 1946 l-NVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 12, 1950 UNITED STAT OF Fl TOOL K-ll'li' Sundel Doniger, New York, N. Y.

A pplication Mayl'l, lQ lfifierialflblo'. 670,617

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to tool kits. and more particularly; to means thereinbywhich blades or other, instruments are. retained inorderly positionin 'the kit.

The" utilization of tool k-its wherein a plurality of blades or other instruments: are-provided for replaceable use in a holder or handle-for each instrument,- has become more and" more popular andaprevalent. The toolkits, however, are often handled:carelessly'orevenroughly, and as a resultwthe-instruments become jumbled-,- mixed and tion has-foritsobjectthe-fulfillment of the de-- siderata indicated above.

More, specificallyan; obj ectof the. invention is l toprovide an instrument retainer in a tool kit adaptedby a simple operation to grip all of series of: instruments andby an eouallysimple operation to release allof said series for selective rem-oval of any one of the. instruments desired.

Another object ofthe invention is to grip all instruments inserted in place irrespective of ab sence of any oi the instruments fromtheir appointed places.

A furtherobject of) theinvention is to provide a retainer which remains part of. and irremovable from the kit container.

Y-"e-t another object-of the invention is to provide a structure which is adapted to the retention of thin instruments, particularly knife blades, and; Without/contact withany part of: the cutting portion thereof.

Further objects of. the inventioncontemplate simplicity ofconstruction; durability; lightness f weight; minimum alterationofFpresent-daycon tainersandfull display of thecutting portions of the blades.v

Still otherobjects of the invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art to which itlappertains as the description progresses, both bii direct recitation thereof and'by implication from the context.- I

Referring: to the accompanying drawing in which like numerals of referenceindicate similar parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is aperspectiveview'of a tool kit the container, of which is open-anon the instruments shown are blades carried? by; a? rack having are- 30 rectangular.

(Cl. zoo--15) tainer, said-retainer being in itsunlocked'position; I

Figure 2 is. a facial view, partly broken away and in section, showing the rack, retainer and 5 associated parts or" theeontainer, and with the retainer in locked position;

Figure 3 is a section on line 33 of Figure. 2; and

Figure i is a sectional View similar to Figure: 3

lo showin a part thereof onlarger scale and with.

the retainer-in unlocked position.

In the specific embodiment. of the invention illustrated in said drawing, the kit is shown as comprising a container EU wherein are depictedv two holders H, and a rack 2 for instruments or blades l3 adapted to be selectively used with a holder.

More in detail, the container ill is a box or. body portion it of generally rectangular shapeexcept for tapering sides and with a cover. I! 5 having a marginal. rim it atthe two sides and back to give depth to the interior. oithe cover. The side rims of thecover slope to a vanishingcon.

dition next the front edge, which enables-the blades to lie flatwise. against the inside face of the cover and yet be slidin and out past. the front edge of the cover without obstruction. The bodyof the container has its side wallscorrespond:

ingly sloped so theclosecl container. willbe truly eted-cleats along its side walls extending from front toback ofthe container and adapted to; .receive and support holders ll lengthwise of the container, each said holder removably carrying a blade. or instrument therein when laid away. In. use, any one" of the variously shaped'b'lades l3 shown in the rack. [21 in the cover may be co substituted for the bladelt shown in-the holderll.

The rack 22 is preferably a strip, which may be woodor other material, and is here shown. extending at the deep part of the cover fromsidez to side thereof.

Said strip: is fixed to the inside faceof the cover and has grooves: or pockets it in its rear-face next said inside face of'the. cover; said pockets being open endwisetoward the front edge of the cover for receiving shanks iii of the blades. Longitudinally of said striplconstituting saidrack, and also in the rear of'resilientmetal'the-rwidth of w hichis substan+ Hinges ll mount the cover by its rear rim to the near wall of the body of' theoontaineix The body of the container has sock- 3 tially the width of the longitudinal groove and the length of which is less than the length of rack [2 by an amount substantially equal to desired longitudinal amplitude of movement for the retainer, that is, an amount substantially equal to width of a pocket I8. At one end of the rack, a slot 22 of equal width to the longitudinal groove in registration with said groove opens through the front of the rack, and a finger-piece 23 projects therefrom as an integral part with the slide. This finger piece is conveniently formed as a forwardly bent end of the slide, but it will be understood that the said finger piece may be constituted otherwise and differently placed if desired with a corresponding change of location of the slot. The said slide has a thickness less than excess of the depth of the longitudinal groove over depth of the socket grooves, so that the generally flat portion of the face of the slide toward the inside face of the cover is spaced from the cover more than the depth of the socket grooves from the cover, to leave a clear path for entry of the instrument shanks past the retainer.

Said retainer has stamped therefrom or otherwise formed, a plurality of resilient detents 24, one for each socket groove and protruding from the slide toward the inside face of the cover substantially into contact therewith. These detents are located on the slide in such manner as to lie between socket grooves, entirely clear of said grooves, in one position, identified herein as unlocked position, of the slide, and the slide has amplitude of movement enabling said detents to be introduced into said socket grooves at the other extreme position of the slide here designated as the locking position.

In use, the several blades l3 are inserted in the container It! with their shanks l9 slid home in socket grooves I8 so that, as shown in Figure 4, the shanks are behind the slide which is at that time at its unlocked position or slid to the right as shown in Figure 1. To grip the blades fo holding them in the rack, the slide is then moved to the left or locked position as shown in Figures 2 and 3, which brings the detents into position of registration with the shanks, and by virtue of the resiliency of the detents, the shanks are pressed against the inner face of the cover and frictionally held in that position. Because of the resilient pressure exerted by the detents against the blade shanks, the slide is likewise retained in its locking position until positively actuated by the user to the unlocked position. It will be observed that all of the blades in the rack are simultaneously locked by the single movement of the slide and similarly are all unlocked at once by single movement of the slide. Furthermore, absence of any one or more blades from its socket does not lessen the security of retention of such blades as are mounted in the rack when the retainer is slid to locked position. It will also be observed that the blades in locked position are flatwise against the inside face of the cover and the shank portions are the only parts thereof which are engaged at the side edges. The bevel of the blade to its cutting edge raises the cutting edge from any contact whatever from the cover surface, and thus there is no possibility of the blade becoming dulled and yet the blade is conveniently introduced and removed according to the wish of the user and fully protected in intervals of non-use and of shifting around of the container, irrespective of roughness of treatment of the container while the blades are locked in the rack. Observation is also made 4 that the slide is irremovable from the rack and has its movement limited by end engagement of the retainer with the projecting end sections of the cover rim,

I claim:

1. A device of the character described comprising a tool kit container having a wall constituting a support for a plurality of tools in front of and against said wall, means proximate to said wall for receiving and holding a plurality of tools in front of and against said wall, said means comprising a longitudinally extending strip whereof portions engage said wall, and said strip having a plurality of parallel recesses therein between wall-engaging portions, said recesses extending inwardly from the upper longitudinal edge of said strip at the rear thereof proximate to said wall and forming with said wall a series of transversely spaced pockets for reception of tools therein, said strip being formed with a longitudinally extending slideway parallel to said wall and spaced laterally therefrom and traversing said pockets so that tools in the pockets extend past said slideway and between the slideway and said wall, said slideway extending at right angles to said pockets and intersecting the same through the sides thereof, a longitudinally extending flexible locking retainer mounted in said slideway and spaced from said wall in parallelism thereto providing space between said wall and retainer for insertion of a tool, and means on said retainer projecting therefrom toward said wall and movable into and out of said pockets at the sides thereof for positively engaging across the front faces of said tools in the pockets and resiliently pressing said tools toward and into engagement with said wall when said retainer is moved to the locking position.

2. A device in accordance With claim 1, wherein the said means on the retainer projecting toward said wall, comprises resilient fingers, one for each recess, struck from and integral with said strip for resiliently pressing the tool in a direction away from the slideway and toward said wall.

3. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said strip is provided with a slot at one end of the slideway and through the front face of said strip away from said wall, and wherein said retainer is provided with an operating finger at one end thereof next said slot, said finger projecting forwardly out of said slot and accessible for sliding said retainer to and from its said locking position.

SUNDEL DONIGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

